Kenworth for Foden
Page 16
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ASSEMBLY of Kenworth C500 6x4 rigids will begin at Foden's Sandbach plant later this year, probably in September. Paccar, the American corporation which manufacturers Kenworths and Peterbilts in the US and which has owned Foden since 1980, expects most of the Sandbach-assembled C500s to be sold in the Middle East.
Paccar's main reason for switching production to the UK is that manufacturing costs could be lowered by building here and charging in pounds, rather than dollars. The Kenworth plant in the USA will continue to manufacture some C500s for South America.
The C500 is a normal control (bonneted), on/off road 6x4 chassis, usually used as a dump truck. It will be built only in lefthand drive form at Sandbach but Foden believes may nevertheless find some UK customers: They could be those who used to buy the Foden Superhaulmaster, production of which stopped four years ago.
As with virtually all Paccar vehicles, there is no such thing as a standard specification for the C500.
Each one is built to the customer's specification, but Cummins engines have proved to be the most popular choice. Foden says it will follow its normal policy and source as many C500 components as possible from the UK and the rest of Europe.
It would be quite prepared to fit Rolls-Royce or Caterpillar engines instead of Cummins if requested. GKN front and rear axles, Eaton transmissions, and Eaton or Rockwell CVC rear axles will be on the list of options.
The vehicle operates outside Construction and Use regulations and so does not require UK type approval.
C500 chassis sidemembers and assembled cabs will be imported from the USA initially but, presumably depending on production volume, a future move may be the sourcing of chassis rails in Europe and the import of cab pressings from the US to be assembled at Sandbach.
Foden says there are no plans for other Paccar models to be assembled at Sandbach.